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An Old Radio Movie With A Warning For The Modern Age
I admit I've only watched snippets of this film, but it sounds like quite a remarkable experience - and you'd almost think it was made today.
It's called "A Face In The Crowd," a 1957 flick starring a then unknown Andy Griffith. But he's far from the grinning Mayberry sheriff most of us remember. In one of his first screen appearances, Griffith plays a drifter who's discovered by a radio producer and winds up on the air.
He seizes the public's imagination as a great leader and wise man, except behind the scenes he's a manipulative madman who becomes almost a cult like figure to his listeners, as they buy into his BS 100%. If this sounds like a certain occupant of a current presidential post, just remember this movie was made almost 70 years ago as something of a warning about the dangers of putting too much faith into one man.
It's worth a watch today. You may not believe how good Griffith is at playing a manipulative con artist, but this film shows just what a fine actor he really was.
It's free on Tubi, with a VPN set to the U.S. It's quite the performance and has many lessons for us still today. Here's their description:
"A drifter catapults to nationwide fame after being discovered by a radio producer, but darkness looms as he slowly becomes consumed by his power."
See it here.
- David
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Re: An Old Radio Movie With A Warning For The Modern Age
One of my favorites! The Griffith's character hates audiences so much that he invents the audience-response machine to get rid of them. This is also the famous plot where a character realizes that monster needs slaying and she leaves his Mic on during the closing credits. The entire audience hears him rant about what idiots they are. But there's more! The final scenes will be burned into your memory forever.
The Simpsons "Gabbo" episode pays homage to A Face in the Crowd.